Method of producing textile fabric



Patented Jan. 1, 1946 UNITED STATE METHOD OF PRODUCING TEXTILE FABRIC cm! M. Croft, Walter H. Kindle, and Robert -W. Pinault, Cumberland, Mil, assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application July 8, 1944,

Serial No. 544,142

- 10 Claims.

This invention relates to a fabric having a crinkled or puckered effect in the weft or warp or in both the 'weft and warp, and relates more particularly to the method of treating a fabric containing yarns of an organic derivative of cellulose and yarns of cottouor regenerated cellulose to produce therein a crinkled or puckered effect.

An object of the invention is the production of a crinkled or puckered effect in a fabric containing yarns of an organic derivative of cellulose alternating in a suitable manner with other types of yarns.

A further object of the invention is the mechanical manipulation of a fabric containing yarns of an organic derivative of cellulose and yarns of cotton and/r regenerated cellulose to produce in the fabric a permanent crinkled appearance.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of the invention:

even or crinkly surface such as occurs in crepe fabrics, it has previously been customary to employ yarns having a very high or hard twist. However, the methods of producing crepe fabrics employing high twist yarn is relatively expensive due to the great cost of imparting to the yarn the high twist of from 50 to 100 turns per inch. Moreover, it is not possible to produce crepe fabrics having all desired hands as the twisted yarn imparts to the fabric a distinctive feel. a

We have now found an inexpensive and economic way of producing crinkled or puckered fabrics that involves no expensive special yarn, treatments or special looms for weaving? These fabrics may be produced with a fine pebble effect similar to a crepe efiect or with large puckered effects such as are present in seers'ucker fabrics. Furthermore, any of the effects from crepe to seersucker may be produced on fabrics having from a relatively open weave through any degree of tightness of weave to hard, tight satins and taffetas. There is thus produced by our invention a whole new line of novel fabrics having properties long sought for for quilting material, tickings, linings, drapes, bedspreads, dress fabrics, etc.

In accordance with our invention, we produce ornamental and other desirable effects on fabrics by subjecting a fabric containing weft yarns of an organic derivative of cellulose and other types of y ms to a stretching operation while in the presence of heat and moisture, drying the fabric In order to make fabrics which have an unwhile it is held in the stretched condition and then removing the tension on the fabric, allowing'{ the same to crinkle or pucker which it does immediately upon removal of the tension and in a pattern depending upon theweave and the amount of stretch imparted thereto during the drying operation. This drying while in a stretched condition may be performed at any time after the weaving of the fabric andprior to the packaging of the fabric and on any suitable continuous device or in batch lots on frames. However, at the present time it is found most economical to produce the crinkled appearance during a normal dyeing operation, i..e. by dyeing on a jig and drying on a tenter set topull-out the fabric from 1 to 10%, preferably from 2 to 5% for taffetas, and to hold the fabric to that width till substantially bone dry. "Upon release from the tenter, the fabric assumes a. crinkled appearance.

The fabric is formed by weaving yarn or cellulose acetate or other thermoplastic yarns in alternation with yarn of cotton, regenerated cellulose or other non-thermoplastic yarns as weft into any suitable'warp preferably a warp comstretching of the wet fabric warp-wise and drying the same while stretched .is contemplated, the

warp may be made of all one kind of yarn or any alternation of different types of yarn. As indicated above, the fabric while wet may be I pulled-out from 1 to 10% either weft-wise or warp-Wise or both. The invention, however, is particularly applicable to the pulling-out of the fabric in a weft-wise direction and for this reason, it is described with especial reference thereto. The construction of the fabric should be such that the yarns of cellulose. acetate or other thermoplastic material alternate with the regenerated cellulose yarns or other non-thermoplastic material having a. sumcient regain, after being pulled-out, to effect a crinkling upon being released. This alternation may be regular, that is for instance, an alternation of one, two or more yarns of cellulose acetate, and one, two or more yarns of regenerated cellulose, or it may be irregular in form to produce bands, stripes or even complicated designs such as are produced on Jacquard looms.

The fabric may .be constructed with an demine the texture of the finished fabric. The yarns of either the thermoplastic or non-thermoplastic component may be of any desired size and number of filaments and also may be single or double. The continuous filament yarns may be without twist or any degree of twist up to and including crepe twist, but for economy they thermopiastic yarns preferably have a basis of regenerated cellulose made by the viscose process but they may also be yarns of saponifled or partially saponifled cellulose acetate or other ester of cellulose. Non-thermoplastic yarns of cotton,

linen, wool, etc., may also be employed.

As an illustration of the invention, the following example is given:

Example A tightly woven taffeta is formed with a warp 75 denier-20 filamentturns per inch cellulose acetate warp and a filling consisting of 120 denier- 40 filaments-3 turns per inch cellulose acetate for 6 picks alternating with 2 picks of 75 denier- 35 filaments-5 turns per inch viscose type regenerated cellulose. The fabric is woven to have a 39 inch width in the greige which after jig dyeing is 39 inches. This fabric while wet from the dye bath is run through a tenter so adjusted that it is pulled-out to 40 inches and held till it is bone dry. As the fabric leaves the tenter clips, a crinkling of the fabric rapidly takes place due to the differential of the regain in the two types of yarn.

In place of the dye bath employed in the above example, any aqueous bath may be employed to wet out the fabric prior to its entry into the tenter. Such baths may be of substantially pure' water, or they may be scouring baths, finish applying baths containing a dressing, etc. Furthermore, the fabric may be steamed upon entering the tenter in place of submerging the fabric in a bath. The temperature of the tenter should be high enough to effect, in the presence of moisture, the thermoplastic materials in such a manner as to cause the same to lose at least some of its regain. For cellulose acetate this temperature may be from 90 C. to 150 C. The length of treatment should be at least long enough to dry the material to a bone dry state. By bone dry state or condition is meant that the moisture left in the fabric is equal to or less than the percentage of moisture the fabric attains upon reaching an equilibrium with the atmosphere.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be'made therein without departing from the spirit of our invention.

plastic material and yarns of non-thermoplostic material, introducing moisture into the fabric, pulling-out the fabric in the direction of said associated yarns, dryi s the fabric while held in the pulled-out condition and releasing said tension whereby the non-thermoplastic yarns make a greater regain to effect a substantially permanent crinkle effect in the fabric.

2. Method of producing a fabric having a crinkled texture comprising associating together in the same direction in a fabric, yarns of organic derivative of cellulose material and yarns of nonthermoplastic material, introducing moisture into the fabric, pulling-out the fabric in the direction of the associated yarns, drying the fabric while held in the pulled-out condition, and releasing said tension whereby the non-thermoplastic yarns make a greater regain to effect a substantially permanent crinkle effect in the fabric.

3. Method of producing a fabric having a crinkled texture comprising associating together in the same direction in a fabric, yarns of cellulose acetate material and yarns of non-thermoplastic material, introducing moisture into the fabric. pulling-out the fabric in the direction of the associated yarns, drying the fabric while held in the pulled-out condition and releasing said tension whereby the non-thermoplastic yarns make a greater regain to effect a substantially permanent crinkle effect in the fabric.

4. Method of producing a fabric having a crinkled texture comprising associating together in the same direction in a fabric, yarns of organic derivative of cellulose material and yarns of regenerated cellulose, introducing moisture into the fabric, pulling-out the fabric in the direction of the associated yarns, drying the fabric while held in the pulled-out condition, and releasing said tension whereby the non-thermo plastic yarns make a greater regain to effect a substantially permanent crinkle eifect 1n the fabric.

5. Method of producing a fabric having a crinkled texture comprising associating together in the same direction in a fabric, yarns of thermoplastic material and yarns of non-thermoplastic material, introducing moisture into the fab- Having described our invention, what we desire the same direction in a fabric, yarns of thermoric, pulling-out the fabric from 1 to 10% in the direction of the associated yarns, drying the fabric while held in the pulled-out condition and releasing said tension whereby the non-thermoplastic yarns make a greater regain to effect a substantially permanent crinkle effect in the fabric.

6. Method of producing a fabric having a crinkled texture comprising associating together in the same direction in a fabric, yarns of cellulose acetate material and yarns of non-thermoplastic material, introducing moisture into the fabric, pulling-out the fabric from 1 to 10% in the direction of the associated yarns, drying the fabric while held in the pulled-out condition and releasing said tension whereby the non-thermoplastic yarns make a greater regain to efiect a substantially permanent crinkle effect in the fabric.

7. Method of producing a fabric having a crinkled texture comprising associating together as the weft of a fabricyarns of continuous filament organic derivative of cellulose and regenerated cellulose, introducing moisture into the fabric, pulling-out the fabric from 1 to 10% in a weft-wise direction, drying the fabric while held in the pulled-out condition and then releasing the tension on the fabric whereby a permanent greater regain of the regenerated cellulose yarns..

8 Method of producing a fabric having a V crinkled texture comprising associating together as th weft of a fabric yarns of continuous filament cellulose acetate and regenerated cellulose, introducing moisture into the fabric, pulling-out the fabric from 1 to 10% in a weft-wise direction. drying the fabric while held in th pulled-out condition and then releasing the tension on the fabric whereby a permanent crinkle is produced in the fabric by reason of the greater regain of th regenerated cellulose yarns.

9. Method of producing a fabric having a crinkled texture comprising associating together as the weft of a fabric yarns of continuous filament organic derivative of cellulose and regenerated cellulose, introducing moisture into the fabric, pulling-outthe fabric from 1 .to 10% in a weft-wise direction, drying the f bri while an held in the pulled-out condition at a temperand then releasing the tension on the fabric whereby a permanent crinkle is produced in the fabric by reason of the greater regain of the regenerated cellulose yarns.

10. Method of producing a fabric having a crinkled texture comprising associating together as the ,weft of 'afabric yarns of continuous filament cellulose acetate and regenerated cellulose, introducing moisture into, the fabric, pulling-out the fabric from 1 to 10% in a weft-wise direction, drying the fabric while held in-the pulled-out condition at a temperature between 90 C. and 150 C. until bone dry and then releasing the tension on the fabric whereby a permanent crinkle is produced in the fabric by reason of the greater regain of the regenerated cellu-; lose yarns.

WALTER H. HINDIE. 7 ROBERT -W. PINAULT.

. ature between 90- c; and 150' c'-. untiibone dry 

